RC Review: "The Substitute" / "Gretchen and the Secret of Yo"
Juan F. Lara
Walsh
Last Saturday's "Recess" had a pair of livlier episodes than usual.
SPOILER WARNING
"The Substitute"
Written by: Phil Walsh
Storyboard by: Susie Dietter
Mr. E. turned out intriguing. Through his character the staff made adult
cultural references you wouldn't expect in this kid-pitched cartoon: I thought
that his name and his look were based on "Reservoir Dogs" characters, and his
background included political references I quoted below ( albeit uninsightful
political references :-). He seemed a villain at first in scenes like his
forcing the kids to drill for recess. But then he showed that he cared about
his kids succeeding in the scenes where he helped out Gus and Mikey. So I
wound up admiring the character, but very dubiously.: Teachers SHOULD be able
to command authority and respect from their students, and I felt good for the
kids that they found inspiration in him. The kids could use the Independent
Study project for individualistic expression. OTOH, Mr. E. seemed to impress
only by his power to intimidate, and he was devoid of human flaws. The kids
seemed to be building a personality cult around him, making Mr. E. seem, well,
fascist in his means of inspiring the kids....Eh, either way Mr. E. was a
thought provoking character, which was an achievement for "Recess".
T.J.'s part in this short didn't work at all, though. For most of the
short he resisted Mr. E. The creators have always him to stand up to unjust
authority, and so they seemed to be doing the same here, with T.J. admonishing
the other kids for forgetting about all the fun things they once did to subs.
T.J.'s behavior was the main reason I suspected that Mr. E. would ultimately
turn out the villain. But then they revealed T.J.'s reason for resisting in
the big climax. My reaction was "THAT'S IT?? Was THAT what this was all
about??!?". T.J. never alluded to Ms. Grotke once in this short, and to tell
the truth the kids never seemed that high an opinion of her before. So the
short ended on a letdown.
Mr. E.: Sure you're...spirited. But you're loyal. I respect that.
[ I don't think that "spirited"-ness is supposed to be a bad thing...]
"Gretchen and the Secret of Yo"
Based on a Story Idea by: Julie Forte
Written by: Doria Biddle
Storyboard by: Stark Howell
A more straightforward short, but a great short in its own way. :-) It was
"Recess"'s turn to do a send-up of "The Karate Kid", and I thought they did it
well. Forte and Biddle built a convincing reality where yo-yo'ing required a
philosophy of discipline to master. At the same time, that very idea made the
short funny.
Tommy Tate was as good a character as Mr. E. He took to the role of
Gretchen's coach immediately, and from then on his overwhelming character trait
was the pride he felt for Gretchen. The short wisely spent more time on pathos
in scenes where Tate spoke encouragingly to Gretchen and when he referred to
his former career then on the details of "Yo" keeping the short from getting
ridiculous.
And the short handled its message very well. Only a couple of brief
scenes showed Gretchen's alienation from the others. Then Tate mentioned the
decision Gretchen would have to make but spent only a sentence on it instead of
a big speech. After that came the competition, which concentrated on nothing
but Gretchen's performance. At the end, Tate's comments to Gretchen were
totally credible. They were hinted at by the way Tate looked back, and by the
end Tate was a substantial enough character to make the pathos here work.
MISCELLANEOUS
David Rasche of "Sledge Hammer" played Mr. E. Gregg Berger of "Duckman"
and "Men in Black" played Tommy Tate.
Some of the kids' rules in this show have made me go "huh?". But their
riffing on substitute teachers was dead on. :-) I remember during high school
and lower the substitute teachers did have little hold over their students
because they couldn't further the real teachers' lesson plan, and kids did pull
stunts like book drops and changing seats.
T.J.: Now remember our plan. If the sub calls on you, use a fake name.
I'm going with Hugh Belscher.
Prickley: Our guest teacher comes to us following successful stints in
Southeast Asia, the former Yugoslavia, and the Bronx, NY.
Mr. E.: Now the rest of you jump those jacks. You'll be proud to know
you're doing the same exercises as the army rangers do.
T.J.: Great. Only I thought we were preparing for 5th. Grade, not war.
Mr. E.: You're going to write me an essay all about how its wrong to lean
on people ( unless it's in the best geopolitical interests of the
United States of America ).
Then again, maybe they're referring to Mr. T instead. :-)
DYN: They showed Gretchen getting hit with the tetherball. The kind of
scene that BS&P usually forbids.
I didn't like the simplified animation for the jumpropes. Also, all the
glasses on the table looked like they were floating. And the yo-yo routine of
Gretchen's main rival was very cheesy.
Tate: You don't shake with that. It's your instrument.
Tate: Note where my plant foot is, huh, huh? THAT is the secret of Yo.
Gretchen: Huh, wha? I didn't see the commercial, Mikey. I was
praticing. Don't you people ever talk about yo-yo's?
It makes a world of difference when a cartoon has a premise and characters
that actually catch your attention. :-)
- Juan F. Lara
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~jfl/intro.html
Mr. E.: I don't get you, Detweiller. Independent Study is fun. It's a chance
to grow. Why don't you get on the bus, boy?
T.J.: Maybe I don't trust the driver.
Zach Baker
Juan F. Lara wrote:
> "Gretchen and the Secret of Yo"
This reminded me a bit of a yo-yo episode of The Simpsons.
I don't recall too much about it, though. The set-up, on
the other hand, brought to mind the "world's record" episode
of Ned's Newt.
By the way, last Sunday, a day after seeing this Recess, I
went down to the local Toys 'R' Us. I happened upon, guess
what, a demonstration being held there by two of the Yomega
staff pros. There were a few kids that appeared definitely
more interested that the rest. They were asking the one on
duty if he knew other Yomega demonstrators they've seen,
and to do some of the more advanced tricks. So it looks
like the heart of yo-yo is still beating. It was a bit of
a fad two years ago or so, I recall.
Here on the West Coast, the first half of Pepper Ann was
interrupted by the Space Shuttle landing. However, it was
nice to see the two bonus episodes of PA after 1SM. Of
course, they were reruns... "first-season classics," shall
we say. I hope everything turned out well with that.
---
Zach Baker <za...@instantplanet.com>
"'Gretchen Gone Bad'? It can't be!"
Juan F. Lara
Zach Baker <za...@instantplanet.com> wrote:
"Gretchen and the Secret of Yo"
> I happened upon, guess what, a demonstration being held there by two of the
> Yomega staff pros.
I was fairly certain that there are real life versions out there of the
yo-yoing tournament.
> Here on the West Coast, the first half of Pepper Ann was interrupted
It was a new short called "Radio Freak Hazelnut". But that was paired
with a rerun.